The present invention relates to a vertical separator for separating liquid or solid particles from a mixture of the particles and a vapour or a gas, said separator including, inside an outer casing, a chamber for admitting the mixture, a plurality of vertical tubes whose ends are provided with fixed blades which impart a helical movement to the mixture and whose outlets are provided with a coaxial tube whose diameter is smaller and which allows dry vapour or gas to be removed in an inner tube and a mixture containing a higher proportion of liquid or solid particles to be removed in the annular space which leads into a free chamber where said mixture contains a higher proportion of liquid or solid particles is allowed to be separated into substantially dry vapour or gas and a fluid which contains little vapour or gas, and said inner tubes leading into a dry vapour or gas collecting chamber.
Drying apparatus which uses centrifuging effects in tubes has the advantage of small bulk in comparison to the flow steam to be treated, and can therefore be disposed directly at the outlets of apparatus which generates wet steam, (such as expansion turbines) thereby omitting or reducing the length of tubing which conveys wet steam, and is consequently subjected to erosion and corrosion. Such apparatus provides dry steam with a low residual water content of about 0.1% and consequently reduces as much as possible the volume of water retained in the steam circuits, which water is liable to be vaporized when the steam pressure drops. However, the separated water is still mixed with steam and even if it enters a chamber which allows further separation by gravity, such separation is incomplete. The water which streams down entrains a quantity of steam which is lost from the thermodynamic cycle. This reduces the efficiency of the downstream equipment (expansion turbines, heat exchangers). The steam which rises in the chamber further entrains droplets of water so that the steam can be used only with difficulty unless precautions are taken and there is a danger of its causing corrosion on its circuit or requiring the use of expensive stainless steel tubes.